In the summer of 2010 our son was offered an unpaid internship at a small optical engineering firm. He was fortunate in that he didn't have to work during the summer to pay for college expenses. Mom and Dad had the means to afford him the opportunity. Upon graduation he applied for an open position at NASA in their satellite division. He was one of many applicants with similar qualifications--the difference being in the experience he had from that summer internship. Please follow me below the fold...
My husband and I often talked about the disparity of the haves and have nots in regards to being able to participate in the internship programs while in college--the advantages that participation brings , and how so many promising students miss out on that opportunity. Upon retirement we participated in a variety of volunteer positions but were always drawn back to the discussion of how we could help even the playing field for tomorrow's leaders. Over the past few years we drew up a rough draft on how a program subsidizing internships might work.
My husband passed away this past August from a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. My children and I decided the best way to honor his memory was to form this foundation and thus The Jeffrey A. McLean Foundation was formed.
thejeffreyamcleanfoundation.org
My favorite quote over the years has been "Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything you can." - Ashleigh Brilliant
We were very fortunate in our lives--and as Elizabeth Warren says we didn't do it by ourselves. We had help from family, institutions, and programs that were there for us. This is our way of paying it forward. Please take a look and spread the word--Remember you can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps unless you have boots. Hopefully we can provide a few pairs of boots.